Saving for retirement is a multi-decade investing venture, even for those approaching retirement. Indeed, actuaries in 2015 stated that there is a 70 per cent chance that one of a 65-year-old couple will reach 90 years old, meaning that even retirement is a multi-decade investing proposition.

SMSF super funds are usually set up so trustees can gain greater control over what happens to them. So when markets become volatile and it is apparent that nobody controls them, what are the psychological effects?

SMSF members are 'very trusting' of financial advisers. More so than superannuants in a big super fund. It raises questions about how much DIY super investors want to use their fund to gain more control.

One of the strange aspects of investment markets is that the rational thing to do is to buy low and sell high. But in reality it happens the other way around. Past pessimism may be deceptive, but the markets are still looking shell shocked.